The Pearl written by John Steinbeck is a parable, a story that teaches a moral lesson. This novel is centered on a poor Indian family, who live in a brush hut along the Gulf of Mexico and by the village of La Paz. The family consists of: Kino, a fisherman and pearl diver, his wife Juana, and their infant son Coyotito. One day while diving, Kino discovers a great pearl that he calls, “the pearl of the world” (22). The theme of a literary work is defined as the central idea, concern or purpose about life that a writer wishes to convey. There may be several themes identified in a literary work; however, in John Steinbeck’s novel The Pearl the author uses the pearl to develop one of the most essential universal themes in literature, that of humanity’s struggle with violence.
One example of this universal theme of humanity’s struggle with violence that occurred in this novel happened when Kino violently attacked his wife to keep her from throwing his “precious” pearl into the sea. “ . . . he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face with ...
In the novel by John Steinbeck, Kino finds “The Pearl of the World”, but it soon causes him to worry and fear that everyone is out to get him. For example, one situation that illustrates this was when, “Juana, sitting by the firehole,
Many stories in the world have a lot of the same characters. Carl Jung believed that universal, mythic characters called archetypes reside within the collective unconscious of people in the world. Archetypes are important because basically any story you will read will have archetypes in it. The archetypes in The Pearl are important because without the Hero, Ally, or Loyal Retainer archetypes in the book, The Pearl would have no story. This is why John Steinbeck uses many different archetypes in The Pearl such as the Hero, Ally, and Loyal Retainer.
Kino, the main character in “The Pearl”, starts off by being a loving, helpful companion to his lover Juana. The two are so connected they barely feel the need to talk to each other. Their life is almost perfect, until a scorpion stings their baby, Coyotito. Because the couple has very little money, the doctor will not cure Coyotito and says, “have I nothing
Picture walking down a road and picking up a lottery ticket, then later finding out that it was the winning ticket. That is essentially what happens to the character, Kino, when he finds a great pearl in the story The Pearl by John Steinbeck. In the book Kino and his family soon learn that wealth can drastically change people in a negative way. Author John Steinbeck includes a scene leading up to this in which Kino feels alone and fails to see a thin dog in the pearl to show how power and riches can affect life negatively. When he writes this scene he tries to present a shift in Kino’s values. The conflict in this scene is somewhat person versus person.
Kino found one of the most valuable and precious pearls in the world and being convinced of its worth was not going to be cheated by only minimally upgrading his condition of life. Instead he wanted to break the fixed life and role that he and his family had and always would live. Kino refuses the maximum offer of fifteen hundred pesos that would easily ease his and his family’s pain and suffering for the coming months. Kino is then determined to trek to the capital to find a fair and just offer. Kino continues determined through the mountains after an attempt at the pearl, his canoe destroyed and his hut set a blaze. Continuing to put his family’s life on the line. It eventually takes the death of his beloved son Coyotito to make him realize he needs to stop being so greedy, no matter how hard he tries and to shut his mouth and know his role.
The Pearl is a parable, a story that has a moral, written by John Steinbeck. The novel is based on a poor Indian family who live in a small village outside of La Paz, Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. The family consists of: Kino, a fisherman and pearl diver; Juana and their infant son Coyotito. Kino’s people live a life of poverty so when Kino finds “The Pearl of The World” the villagers and town’s people all want to get their hands on the pearl for themselves; Lap Paz became filled with greed. This novel like all others is focused on a major theme; the theme of a literary work is defined as a central idea, concern or purpose about life that a writer wishes to convey. There may be several themes identified in a literary work; however, in John Steinbeck’s novel The Pearl the author uses an occurrence in nature–the pearl to develop one of the most essential universal themes in literature, which is humanity’s struggle with greed.
Readers can tell from the statement that many of the people Kino encounters after finding the pearl become bitter “friends”. At this point, Kino and Juana begin to realize that the pearl is bringing bad luck upon them. They are taken advantage of by the doctor and he decides to visit them after knowing they have the pearl. “This pearl is like a sin”(56). Juana begins to realize the pearl is bringing them bad luck, but Kino still trusts that it’s a gift. Readers can also assume that people are trying to take the pearl when Kino is suddenly attacked during the night. “Blood oozed down from his scalp and there was a long…”(56). Readers can now confirm that the pearl has changed and now represents evil. The pearl also begins to destroy Kino and Juana’s relationship as they have different opinions on what to do with the pearl. After Kino wakes up and follows Juana when she wakes up and walks out, readers know he has started to lose full trust in her. “He rolled up to his feet and followed her silently as she had gone” (58). Through the symbolism of the pearl and what it brings upon Kino and Juana, the author emphasizes how the pearl is not what it first appears to be, which was
Novels were created to show a very naive view in great depth. The Pearl is a novel in its most complete form. Steinbeck does this by conveying life symbolically. Through symbols, John offers the reader a clearer look at life and it?s content. He shows major imagery in four ways: Kino, music, Coyotito, and the 'Pearl of the World'.
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito go back to the beach and row out to an oyster bed, where he begins to search for the pearl. As Kino continues to search, Juana takes things into her own hands after being refused by the doctor and sucks the poison out of Coyotito and then puts seaweed on the wound, unknowingly healing him. Meanwhile Kino gathers several small oysters but suddenly comes across a particularly large oyster. He picks the oyster up and returns to the surface. When Kino opens the oyster he discovers the pearl. Word that the pearl has been discovered travel through the town quickly. People in the town became jealous of Kino and his family which eventually leads to a great deal of harm.
If you were given a million dollars, what would you do? Spend it in a short amount of time? Or save it responsibly for the future? Many would say the latter, confident that they will accomplish that. But for a few, it doesn’t turn out that way. In the book, The Pearl, a family, Kino, Juana and their child, Coyotito, go through various hardships after they have found a pearl, eventually losing everything they had loved. With three examples from the novel, I will explain what the pearl in the book symbolizes.
After Kino found his great pearl bad things started happening, Kino and Juana's lives were in trouble. Two men notified in the book as the "dark ones" tried to steal the pearl, luckily Kino had been prepared and got rid of the enemies but that was not the end of the misery. Coyotito got very sick and the Doctor had deliberately made things worse. When it was time to sell the pearl, the buyers offered prices that Kino thought were too low. Kino was angry with the pearl buyers for what they had said. "I will not make an offer at all. I do not want it. This is not a pearl - it is a monstrosity." Kino got angry and decided he wanted to go elsewhere and find a buyer for the pe...
In the novella, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the main theme is the battle between good and evil. Throughout the story, evil will enter the lives of a certain Mexican-Indian family. This evil is represented in different symbols. Alongside evil were the voices of reason. Though prominent, good still did not overcome evil.
Juana, the wife to fisherman Kino, is one of the main characters in The Pearl. Coming from poverty, Juana and her husband live a minimalist life, as her simple clothes show (a battered blue head shawl and skirt, and a green ribbon knotted in her braids). Many themes in the story revolve around her. Although Juana understands her role to be a subservient and passive wife, she is smart, brave, and determined throughout the novella. Symbolizing the power and strength of women, Juana gradually becomes dominant over her husband. Juana’s second role in The Pearl is to be the protective mother of her son, Coyotito. Last, she is wise and logical in troubling times and acts as the voice of reason. Juana’s words and actions emphasize her various roles in The Pearl.
In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the choices that Kino makes destroy his happy life leaving him with nothing but a desolate life. It starts with him not accepting any of the offers from pearl buyers to buy the pearl because their prices were too low. Their explanation, valid enough was, the pearl is too big! He also decides to try to keep and protect the pearl when he perfectly well knows that people will try to take from him and will go too far measures to take it. He decides to be stubborn and protect his fortune until he gets the perfect deal.
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver who lives in Mexico with his wife, Juana and his baby boy, Coyotito. One day Kino finds a huge pearl worth a great deal of money. Kino dreams of being rich and buying all that he wants after he sells the pearl. The one thing that Kino doesn't realize is that there are many people who will do anything to steal the pearl from him. No one ever suspects the pearl's power todeceive, corrupt, and destroy. Hence, The Pearl depicts the ultimate battle between good and evil.